CN104298175B - A kind of digital control system based on Intel Virtualization Technology and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a numerical control system, which includes a local numerical control device and a remote server, which are interconnected with the local numerical control device and used to process non-real-time tasks, including G code programming, decoding, Processing simulation, and value-added functions can be realized at the same time; wherein, the server and the numerical control device are interconnected through the client installed on the numerical control device, and the client runs on the numerical control device system, which uses virtual technology in The human interaction equipment of the CNC device performs virtual operations on the server to realize the operation control of the server on the local CNC device, and then the two complete coordination and cooperation to realize the CNC machining control. The invention also discloses a control method for the system. The invention can realize the diversification, flexibility and individual configuration of the functions of the whole numerical control system, and improves the processing efficiency of the numerical control system.

Description

A kind of numerical control system and method based on virtualization technology

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of numerical control systems, and in particular relates to a numerical control system and method based on virtualization technology.

Background technique

CNC machine tool is a flexible, high-efficiency, high-precision automatic machine tool that can better solve complex, precise, small-batch, and multi-variety parts processing problems. It is generally composed of a CNC system, a machine tool body and other auxiliary devices. . The CNC system is the core of the entire CNC machine tool. It integrates position (trajectory), speed, and torque control. It executes part or all of the numerical control functions according to code instructions to realize the motion control of one or more mechanical equipment. As shown in Figure 1, a general numerical control system is composed of an input/output device, a numerical control device, a programmable logic controller (PLC), a servo system, and a detection feedback device, among which the numerical control device is the center of the numerical control system.

The numerical control device may include a display module, an input/output module, a decoder, a motion planner, an axis motion controller, a memory, and the like. Among them, the display module is an important medium for human-computer interaction, which provides users with an intuitive operating environment; the input/output module is the interface for data and information exchange between the CNC device and the outside world, including CNC machining programs, control parameters, compensation, etc. The input of data and the output of information such as servo drive and trajectory control; the decoder is mainly used to decode the program segment of the NC machining program; the motion planner mainly completes the speed processing and interpolation calculation; the axis motion controller is the The interface module between the device and the servo drive system is mainly responsible for position control; the memory is responsible for the storage of information such as part processing programs, system configuration parameters, and system inherent data.

Today, when the functions of the CNC system need to be flexibly expanded, the current CNC system generally adopts the PC+NC upper and lower computer architecture, as shown in Figure 2, the upper computer and the lower computer are installed next to the machine tool and connected through the bus The computer (PC) is HMI, which is responsible for the non-real-time tasks of the system, and the lower computer (NC) is NCU and PLC, which are responsible for the real-time motion control and logic control tasks of the system. This kind of numerical control system already has the characteristics of distribution, and supports the user's secondary research and development and independent upgrade to a certain extent. It has the openness of both the PC terminal and the control terminal, and the communication and control of the upper and lower computer structures are also relatively Easy to implement and maintain.

However, as the demand for intelligent and multi-functional CNC systems continues to increase, higher requirements are placed on the hardware of the CNC system, especially now such as CAD, CAM, CAPP, CAE, PLM, MES and ERP, etc. The functions of software in various fields used in NC machining are becoming more and more powerful, and more and more computer resources are required during operation, which puts forward higher requirements for the core and memory of the NC system. If the software and hardware system of the NC system is constantly upgraded On the one hand, it will cause a sharp increase in design and manufacturing costs, upgrade and use costs, and the difficulty of testing, research and development and production of CNC systems will also increase. On the other hand, it will also lead to The bloat and reliability of the CNC system are reduced. In addition, the functional components of the CNC system under this architecture are independent from other CNC systems. This kind of software and hardware architecture that is completely open inside and relatively closed outside is increasingly difficult to meet the needs of external equipment/software and function expansion. Moreover, it constitutes an island of local resources, which makes the compatibility between the CNC system and external equipment or software poor, and also limits the realization of the multi-function of the CNC system to a certain extent.

The current numerical control system that reflects the structure makes it difficult for the intelligent technology of the numerical control system to adapt to the increasingly complex manufacturing process, forming a major bottleneck for the development of the numerical control system to be intelligent, digital and multi-functional.

Contents of the invention

Aiming at the above defects or improvement needs of the prior art, the present invention provides a function extension method of a numerical control system based on virtualization technology, which uses virtualization technology to integrate a virtual desktop on a local numerical control device, and integrates the functions of the numerical control system The expansion and development tasks are handed over to the remote server. Through the interaction between the remote server and the local CNC device, high-end value-added functions that cannot be supported by the local CNC device are realized, so that the CNC system can adapt to intelligent, multi Functional development direction.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a numerical control system based on virtualization technology is provided, which configures an architecture formed by a remote server and a local numerical control device, and utilizes the interaction between the two to complete numerical control machining control. It is characterized in that the numerical control system include:

The local numerical control device is used to process real-time tasks, including speed processing, interpolation calculation, position control and online detection, and to realize human-computer interaction; and

It is set on the remote server, which is interconnected with the local CNC device network, and is used to process non-real-time tasks, including G code programming, decoding, and processing simulation. At the same time, it can realize value-added functions, including Microsoft/PDF viewing, IE One or more of browsing, Winscp file transfer, NC code quality analysis and detection, and NC code spline fitting and optimization;

Wherein, the server end and the numerical control device are interconnected through a client installed on the numerical control device, and the client runs on the numerical control device system, which uses virtual technology on the human interaction device (HMI) of the numerical control device Perform virtual operation on the server to realize the operation control of the server on the local CNC device, and then complete the coordination and cooperation between the two to realize the CNC machining control.

As an improvement of the present invention, the process in which the client performs a virtual operation on the server on the human-computer interaction device (HMI) is to transmit the operation interface image corresponding to the server to the HMI, and to operate the operation interface in the form of The command is sent to the server, and after the server responds, the result is sent to the HMI for updating and displaying, so as to realize the localized operation of the server.

As an improvement of the present invention, the specific process of the transmission and display of the image is as follows: first compress the image to be transmitted, and then transmit the compressed image data to the numerical control device based on the TCP/IP protocol, and the numerical control device receives After receiving the image data, first decompress it, and then refresh the HMI interface according to the decompressed image data.

As an improvement of the present invention, the server can be a server/PC, a virtual machine running on the server/PC, or even a tablet computer.

As an improvement of the present invention, the server can be interconnected with multiple local numerical control devices for interaction, numerical control processing and/or resource sharing.

As an improvement of the present invention, the software or functions of the server can be expanded, tailored and/or configured through the client installed on the numerical control device.

As an improvement of the present invention, the client has an adaptive screen function, and its interface resolution can be automatically adjusted according to the screen size of the local human-machine interaction interface (HMI).

The present invention utilizes the virtualization technology to construct a brand-new numerical control system architecture based on virtual desktop, which converts the demand of the numerical control system for local software and hardware resources into the demand for the server, and realizes that the software and hardware of the numerical control system are not changed or even reduced. On the premise of configuration, flexibly expand, tailor, optimize and configure the functions of the CNC system on the server side, so that the application of intelligent functional software is no longer limited by local resources, and achieve a high degree of resource sharing, while simplifying the local CNC device. Significantly reduce the cost of production enterprises and improve the reliability of the CNC system.

In the present invention, a server environment is built for the local numerical control device, and a local thin client is deployed on the numerical control device, through which the client can log in to the server. The operation of the server by the operator can be performed directly on the human-machine interface (HMI) of the numerical control device. The server provides application services behind the scenes, and the operator does not feel the existence of the server, as if all operations are performed under the local numerical control device. Done, enabling localization of remote operations.

In the remote operation localized CNC system architecture provided by the present invention, the server can not only be responsible for the installation, configuration and operation of commercial software such as CAPP, CAD/CAM, CAE, PLM, MES and ERP, but also only need the software and hardware of the server Resources are available and supported, and any functional software can be expanded, such as Microsoft/PDF, UG, Vericut, WinSCP, etc., and can provide intelligent G-code quality analysis and optimization, G-code spline fitting and smoothing to local CNC devices , Instruction domain code quality analysis and detection, Microsoft/PDF viewing, IE browser and other functions.

In the present invention, the original non-real-time functions (such as decoding, machine tool anti-collision simulation, etc.) The upgrade is no longer limited by local resources. On the other hand, it can simplify the local device, reduce production costs and improve the reliability of the CNC system while improving its operation speed and accuracy.

In the present invention, it is preferable to give the user certain server software deployment operation authority, allowing the user to flexibly expand, tailor and configure the software deployment of the server according to the needs, so as to realize the personalized, flexible and functionally diversified configuration of the entire numerical control system.

The client in the present invention is installed on the local numerical control device, which reduces the requirements of the numerical control system on the CPU, memory, and hard disk storage space of the local numerical control device, and is the link between the local numerical control device and the server to realize information exchange. The operator controls it by himself and will not affect the normal operation of the local numerical control device. The client has the function of adaptive screen, and its interface resolution can be automatically adjusted according to the screen size of the local human-computer interaction interface (HMI).

The communication between the numerical control device and the server in the present invention adopts data lightweight technology, which reduces the dependence of real-time information exchange on network bandwidth.

Generally speaking, compared with the prior art, the above technical solution conceived by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

(1) The present invention proposes a brand-new architecture of the numerical control device. The numerical control system is laid out in the form of a server plus a local client, and the non-real-time functions and function expansion and development tasks in the numerical control device can be concentrated on the server side for completion. , realize high-end value-added functions that cannot be supported by local CNC devices through remote interaction.

(2) The above-mentioned architecture of the present invention can enable information sharing and distribution between functional components of the numerical control system and other numerical control systems, greatly improving the utilization rate of information and the compatibility between the numerical control system and external equipment or software.

(3) The present invention is based on virtual technology, by setting a client on the numerical control device, using the client to access the server, and simulating the realization of local numerical control operations, so that the processing performance of the numerical control system can be improved while realizing numerical control machining control, Meet equipment/software function expansion requirements.

(4) The present invention uses virtualization technology to break the local resource island of the numerical control system, and can solve the problem that the current numerical control system architecture seriously restricts the development of the numerical control system to the direction of intelligence and multi-function.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the structural representation of numerical control system and machine tool structure in the prior art;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the current mainstream CNC system. The structure is the upper and lower computers, the upper computer is HMI, which is responsible for the non-real-time tasks of the system, and the lower computers are NCU and PLC, which are responsible for the real-time motion control and logic control of the system;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of a numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a typical workflow of a local numerical control device of a numerical control system based on virtualization technology and a server to complete service interaction (taking G code optimization as an example) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of operating a virtual desktop of a server on a local HMI by a numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to make the object, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific examples described here are only used to explain the present invention, not to limit the present invention.

Virtualization technology has been widely used. Desktop virtualization is a server-based computing model, which is the fastest growing and most promising in computer virtualization technology. Desktop virtualization refers to the virtualization of the desktop of a computer or its virtual machine. Users can access the desktop system on the network through any terminal device, regardless of location and time. In recent years, virtualized desktop systems have been gradually applied in various fields, especially in industries such as education and finance. Through desktop virtualization, the traditional, static computing model can be migrated to a dynamic, flexible, and scalable infrastructure, which can easily respond to changes in business requirements and can also save costs significantly. Virtualization technology, especially the application of desktop virtualization technology in the field of digital NC machining will further promote the development of NC technology in the direction of high-end intelligence.

However, due to the characteristics of real-time processing, on-site performance, stability and reliability of NC machining, and the specificity of hardware and software systems, virtual desktops cannot be directly applied in the field of NC machining technology, and there are many applications in the field of NC machining. Technical Difficulties.

First of all, developing a virtualized desktop directly on the operating system of the CNC device can easily affect the reliability and stability of the entire CNC system and increase the failure rate of the CNC system. This is the biggest bottleneck for the widespread application of the virtualized desktop on the CNC device. Secondly, the frequent interface refresh of the virtual desktop will occupy the limited memory, computing and other resources of the CNC system, which indirectly affects the normal processing and processing efficiency of the CNC system. Thirdly, the refresh of the virtual desktop involves the transmission of real-time image data between the server and the client. The transmission method of real-time image data will make it occupy a large workshop bandwidth and indirectly affect the speed of uploading and collecting CNC machining data. Finally, the free switching between NC machining interface and virtual desktop and the seamless integration of NC machining and virtual desktop running at the same time are also a difficult problem in the introduction of virtual desktop technology in the field of numerical control.

The method proposed by the present invention based on the virtualization technology to realize the function extension of the numerical control system uses Qt and frame buffer technology to realize the seamless integration of the numerical control device and the virtual desktop, and greatly reduces the CPU occupancy rate of the virtual desktop refresh on the numerical control system. The stability and reliability of the CNC system are guaranteed. The invention adopts lightweight technology in the transmission of real-time image data, which reduces its dependence on the bandwidth of the workshop network.

The present invention adopts the architecture of client + server: the server can be a server/PC, or a virtual machine running on the server/PC, or even a tablet computer, etc., to "provide" application services to the local numerical control device; The client is a local numerical control device that "requests" application services from the server. The server and the CNC device use the local thin client as the communication link. The client is essentially an application program integrated in the operating system of the CNC device. It has very low requirements for the software and hardware resources of the CNC system. It does not need to be installed and can be started directly. The operation will not affect the stability and reliability of the operating system of the CNC device itself; the client uses frame buffer technology, and its operation only takes up very little memory and computing resources of the CNC system; through this client, it can be opened on the CNC device. And operate the remote virtual desktop to realize the localization of remote operation; at the same time, the client breaks the shackles of the graphical desktop, and it can run normally regardless of whether the operating system of the numerical control device has a graphical desktop. In order to reduce the requirement of information/data exchange on network bandwidth, the present invention preferably adopts data lightweight technology.

In the function extension method of the numerical control system based on virtualization technology provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the operator can flexibly expand, tailor and configure the functional software that cannot be supported by the local numerical control equipment on the server side, breaking the current numerical control system architecture. Its functional diversification can also move the non-real-time tasks that require complex calculations and high memory requirements under the local CNC device to the server, so as to simplify the local CNC device, reduce the production cost of the enterprise and the difficulty of testing the CNC system.

A typical mode provided by the example of the present invention is shown in Figure 3: the numerical control device is only responsible for human-computer interaction and real-time tasks, such as speed processing, interpolation calculation, position control, online detection, etc.; Need high-end value-added functions that cannot be supported by local CNC equipment, such as Microsoft/PDF viewing, IE browser, Winscp file transfer, NC code quality analysis and testing, NC code spline fitting and optimization, etc. Some non-real-time tasks such as G code programming, decoding, and processing simulation. The numerical control device communicates with the server through a local thin client running on the numerical control device. By default, the client is closed. When the CNC system needs complex/value-added functions of the server, you can open the client through the buttons on the panel of the CNC device, log in to the server remotely through the client, and pass After the server is authenticated, the system desktop information of the server is obtained, and it is redrawn on the HMI interface in the form of a "virtual desktop". All can be carried out through this virtual desktop, as shown in accompanying drawing 3.

When it is necessary to remotely operate the server, the numerical control device sends a login request command to the server through the thin client first. After receiving the login request, the server sends its system desktop to the numerical control device and displays it on the HMI (covering the numerical control processing interface), the operator can perform required operations under the virtual desktop. On the surface, the operation and response under the virtual desktop are all realized on the local CNC equipment, and it feels no different from the traditional CNC operation. But in fact, what the operator operates on the HMI is just a "picture", which is a screen copy of the desktop of the server system. The operations on the "picture" are sent to the server in the form of "instructions", and the server responds to the corresponding actions according to the "instructions", and sends the response results to the numerical control device in the form of "pixel information". "Pixel information" updates the virtual desktop on the HMI in real time, and the typical data exchange process is shown in Figure 5.

From the above, there is real-time image data transmission between the numerical control device and the server in the present invention. Generally speaking, the bandwidth of the current commercial local area network should be more than enough to cope with the data transmission related to numerical control, and the transmission of real-time image data puts forward higher requirements on the network bandwidth. In order to solve this problem, the present invention adopts data lightweight technology in the transmission of real-time image data: the server compresses the image (i.e. system desktop) data, and transmits the compressed image data to the numerical control device, and the numerical control device receives After receiving the image data, first decompress it, and then refresh the HMI interface according to the decompressed image data. The use of data lightweight technology reduces the dependence of real-time image data transmission on network bandwidth, so that the bandwidth of the current general commercial LAN can meet the requirements of the present invention.

The thin client in the present invention is integrated with the function of file transmission, and many service interactions between the numerical control device and the server are carried out in the form of file transmission, taking G code optimization processing as an example (in order to express the file interaction of the present invention more clearly mode, here it is assumed that the editing of the G code is done on the local numerical control device), a typical working process is as follows (see Figure 4):

(1) Complete the editing of the G code on the local numerical control device, and store it locally in the form of a text file;

(2) Open the local thin client, log in to the server from the CNC device, display the system desktop of the server on the HMI in the form of a "virtual desktop", and cover the CNC machining interface;

(3) Utilize the file transfer function integrated in the thin client to upload the G code text file to the server;

(4) Operate the server under the virtual desktop, use the G code of the server to optimize the optimization of the software G code, and store the optimized G code to the server in the form of a text file;

(5) Download the optimized G code file to the CNC device by using the file transfer function integrated with the thin client;

(6) Close the virtual desktop, exit the thin client application program, and restore the numerical control machining interface of the numerical control device;

(7) The numerical control device performs numerical control processing according to the optimized G code.

The thin client in the present invention provides the function of an adaptive screen, that is, when the client is started, the client can automatically adjust the size of its own interface according to the size of the HMI screen to achieve the best display effect, and at the same time, this action will not affect The resolution of the desktop of the server system.

The thin client in the present invention can switch freely between the NC machining interface and the virtual desktop with one key, without affecting the NC machining process, even while processing workpieces, the client can also run normally, and the user can proceed to the next code The testing and simulation of the workpiece, the modeling of the workpiece and other operations can improve the processing efficiency of the entire CNC system.

There is still a problem in the software and hardware environment construction of the server: on the one hand, it is impossible for the manufacturer to configure all the functional software that a user may need in the future when the product leaves the factory; on the other hand, the needs of each user are different, and The functions required by the same user at different stages are different. If a specific software environment is "tailored" for each user or any deployment changes on the server need to be handled by the manufacturer, it will not only bring great harm to the user Inconvenience will also reduce the production efficiency of the manufacturer and increase the cost of after-sales service. In order to avoid the above problems, the present invention gives the user certain server operation authority, so the manufacturer only needs to configure the most basic functions (such as G code editing, UG simulation, Microsoft, etc.) Expanding or tailoring the software deployment on the server side is essentially performed on the server side, without changing any configuration of the local CNC equipment, nor will it affect the stability of the CNC device.

It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention, All should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology, which forms an architecture by configuring a remote server and a local numerical control device, and utilizes the interaction of the two to complete numerical control machining control. The numerical control system includes: The local numerical control device is used to process real-time tasks, including speed processing, interpolation calculation, position control and online detection, and to realize human-computer interaction; and It is set on the remote server, which is interconnected with the local CNC device network, and is used to process non-real-time tasks, including G code programming, decoding, and processing simulation. At the same time, it can realize value-added functions, including Microsoft/PDF viewing, IE One or more of browsing, Winscp file transfer, NC code quality analysis and detection, and NC code spline fitting and optimization; It is characterized in that, the server and the numerical control device are interconnected through a client installed on the numerical control device. Virtually operate the server on the local CNC device to realize the operation control of the server on the local CNC device, and then complete the coordination and cooperation between the two to realize the CNC machining control. 2. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to claim 1, wherein the process of the client performing virtual operations on the server on the human-computer interaction device is to transmit the operation interface image corresponding to the server To the human-computer interaction device, and send the operation of the operation interface to the server in the form of instructions, and after the server responds, the result is sent to the human-computer interaction device for updating and displaying, so as to realize the localized operation of the server. 3. A kind of numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to claim 2, wherein, the specific process of the transmission and display of the image is as follows: first the image to be transmitted is compressed, and then based on the TCP/IP protocol The compressed image data is transmitted to the numerical control device, and after receiving the image data, the numerical control device first decompresses it, and then refreshes the interface of the human-computer interaction device according to the decompressed image data. 4. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the server can be a server/PC or a virtual machine running on the server/PC , or even a tablet. 5. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the server can be interconnected with multiple local numerical control devices for interaction, numerical control processing and/or resource shared. 6. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the function of the server can be expanded, tailored and/or through the client installed on the numerical control device configuration. 7. A kind of numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, said client has the function of self-adaptive screen, and its interface resolution can be according to the local human-computer interaction equipment The screen size is automatically adjusted. 8. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the virtual operation of the server on the human interaction device of the numerical control device can be performed simultaneously with the workpiece processing of the numerical control machine tool conduct. 9. A numerical control system control method based on virtualization technology, wherein the numerical control system configures an architecture formed by a remote server and a local numerical control device, and utilizes the interaction between the two to complete numerical control machining control. The numerical control system control method includes: Locally set up a numerical control device for processing real-time tasks, including speed processing, interpolation calculation, position control and online detection, and realizing human-computer interaction; and Remotely set up a server connected to the local CNC device network, which is used to handle non-real-time tasks, including G code programming, decoding, processing simulation, and at the same time realize value-added functions, including Microsoft/PDF viewing, IE browsing , Winscp file transfer, NC code quality analysis and detection, and NC code spline fitting and optimization; It is characterized in that a client is installed and operated on the numerical control device, so that the server and the numerical control device are interconnected through the client installed on the numerical control device, and the human interaction of the numerical control device is achieved by using virtual technology The virtual operation of the server on the device realizes the operation control of the server on the local CNC device, and then the two complete the coordination and cooperation to realize the CNC machining control. 10. A numerical control system based on virtualization technology according to claim 9, wherein the process of the client performing a virtual operation on the server on the human-computer interaction device is to transmit the operation interface image corresponding to the server To the human-computer interaction device, and send the operation of the operation interface to the server in the form of instructions, and after the server responds, the result is sent to the human-computer interaction device for updating and displaying, so as to realize the localized operation of the server.